Greg Plitt – Keep the Drive Alive [Insider Preview]

You've seen it on the Internet and in the gym, and maybe you've even tried some of the workouts—caveman training, athletic-performance training, cross-training. It can be both fun and grueling. More to the point, it can help you get into top condition. Cross-training combines core-training principles from traditional strength training, bodyweight conditioning and cardiovascular exercises.

The strength training is old school—heavy weight and basic exercises. Now add some real old-school tools like sandbags, huge tires, sledgehammers, thick ropes to climb or half-filled beer kegs to press while you try desperately to balance the shifting fluid. So, instead of just lifting a chunk of balanced iron, you're trying to stimulate progress in a new way. It works—and who better to take us through the paces of how and why but top motivator Greg Plitt.

“You must always look to shock the system and change the workout if you want results.”

DY: Mind-set and motivation are integral parts of success in bodybuilding and fitness. What do you do to keep the fire burning in the gym?

GP: Life cannot be calculated in the means to the end. The lessons one learns along the way to the goal are just as important as the end goal, maybe even more so.

The gym has always been my sanctuary, where I find purpose and reason. Some people go to a therapist for answers, but I've never been on a therapy couch. I've always used "sweat equity" in the gym to find meaning in my life when things seem upside down.

It has never been about the ends for me but, rather, the means to the end as a welcome down payment on what it could create. The fire inside was always alive because if I closed my eyes, I could envision success. I always had support and therefore had belief! If you can mentally see the end of the journey, then your body will physically find a way to achieve that goal. People can always get better results when they learn to value the sacrifice, the dedication and the direction it takes to get where they are headed.

At an early age I knew the feeling of striking out in baseball, and I also knew the feeling of hitting a home run. The difference in the two feelings is that I had the opportunity to control the outcome. The more I trained, the harder I fought when no one was watching. The more I sacrificed when everyone else went to sleep, the more of a chance I had to make my dreams a reality—to be the guy hitting the home run and not the guy striking out. Even at that age I realized the value of what hard work turns into, and I became addicted.

DY: What made the difference?

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